Life is about putting one foot in front of the other and taking each day as it comes. That's how I approach running...one step at a time, each step eventually turning into a mile, one mile turning into many. My miles became a mission to save lives!

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Holidays Are Done...Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Here I Come!

It’s been way too long since my last post. Sorry about that. Took a little break during the holidays to clear my head and do some good ol' holiday baking. During my break, I even learned how to make some really yummy dishes which I am very proud of because I wanted to prove that I was capable of more than just baking. Not that baking isn’t an art in and of itself but I started to get tired of people asking my boyfriend, “Yeah, she can bake but does she know how to cook?” And when I say people asking, it was my own dang family! LOL! I was on a mission to prove that I was about more than cookies and cupcakes…mission accomplished:

Learned to make pozole with the help of my mom and my grandma (From left to right; Me, mom...yes, that's my mom and grandma, the garlic queen)

And what us Mexicans call, caldo or in my case, my 2011 diet plan to get back in shape!

The New Year swung in full gear with work and just life in general. But as my cure-all to the grind, I continued to run and threw in a little strength training, making sure I would be ready for Rock 'N' Roll Arizona. I wasn’t going to be overly confident like I was for the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon (half). I remember my foolish mentality weeks before that race. In my head I thought, “I’ve done it before. If I keep up running 3 miles here and there, I’ll be fine.” Not exactly the case—to my dismay I went more than 12 minutes over my previous and best time.

With a 2:30:58 looming over my head, I was determined to redeem myself. My boyfriend knew how important it was to me so he gave me the best birthday present any girl could want…no not diamonds...an entry to Rock 'n' Roll Arizona and some new running gear. Yes, he’s a keeper. :)

Well as luck would have it, I got sick at the start of my training and was out for over a month! I had my days where I was stubborn and would run despite my bronchial infection and disturbing chest pains. I eventually just had to give in and rest. Running with my chest pains really scared the crap out of me even though the doctor had assured me I was fine. Doctor: What’s the problem? Me: Chest pains whenever I move. I’m scared I won’t be able to run. Doctor: When was the last time you ran? Me: Yesterday. Doctor: How many miles? Me: Four miles! Honey, you’re fine! I can’t get my own patients to walk around the corner to the store and you ran four miles with chest pains! You’re okay. It will go away.

It went away…four weeks later!!! Getting back on track was…let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. I fell pretty bad one night which I now have a small scar on my hand. That one is probably best left blamed to clumsiness but you get the point. I felt so discouraged. Not only was it hard to face the fact that I couldn’t run like I used to, the number on the scale started to teeter back to my weight before I got into health and fitness back in 2008. I was in a horrible funk.

I managed to get back on track after a few weeks. It was difficult but I had to get through it with Arizona just a few weeks away from that point. Now I stand with only three days till I’m at the start line ready to add another half to my list. Although I’d hit a little bump in the road, I feel about 75% ready for Rock 'N' Roll Arizona. I say 75% because I don’t want to go in like last time thinking I’ve got this! But don’t let my 75% confuse you for negative thought…I am not at all going into RnR AZ with a bad attitude. I am going into it with sheer modesty. Am I ready for this race? HECK YEAH! I’m beyond excited to run my first Rock 'N'Roll event!

Good luck on Sunday. I think you're coming in with the right mentality. You definitely don't want to go in overconfident because running will humble you. We've all been there but what's important is how we respond. That's really all that counts, and it's not even your time on Sunday that will determine whether you bounced back or not but rather how you approached the race and the effort you gave during the race. I have faith in you that you'll get this race done and whether you PR or not, you'll do great! You do got this!!